Felting Attempt 2

I have just finished my second felting experiment and am quite pleased with the end result. Another bag which at one stage I thought would be a definite reject.

The ideas for this back came from a book called "Funky Chunky Knitted Accessories" by Jan Eaton. I borrowed it from the library and have to take it back today. I will have to find my own copy one day soon. When I did a book search I also found one called "Funky Chunky Crocheted Accessories" and I would love to have a look inside it.

I combined two yarns for this attempt. One was a pure aran wool from Bendigo Woollen Mills and the other a Sean Sheep yarn picked up from Big W for twenty cents a ball when they were selling it on special to clear. The end result was a very fluffy bag just right for patting.

I just knitted a big long rectangle with a little bit of garter stitch at the start and finish. Folded this in half and stitched up the sides. Put it in the washing machine to felt. This one came out wider that it was tall. After referring to one of the books I borrowed from the library I found out that this is quite usual - more shrinkage in one direction.

I was a bit disappointed but continue on with adding the handles. These were made from felted french knitting. The design I was following added the handles by folding in the sides at the top to form a pleat and poking a hole through the bag to thread the handles through. These were tied with a knot which sits inside the pleat. After I had done this stage I like the bag better. I still think that I was really looking for a taller, thinner bag but as this was all a big experiment I still liked the end result. The decoration was a copy of an idea from the book. I added a closure of mine own by knotting a piece of felted french knitting and sewing it to the bag. On the other side I added a button for this to loop over. See more photos in my Picasa album - Felting Attempts.